Page 33 of Craving a King

I take a deep breath and exit the car. She sees me instantly and rises. If she’s shocked to see me, her face doesn’t show it. She looks relaxed. Like she was expecting me. Her eyes take me in slowly from top to bottom, and I do the same with her. Her gaze pauses at my kente cloth-clad chest before moving to my lips. Maybe she wants this as badly as I do. I approach with outstretched hands.

“Ella, you look lovely today. Mawuli outdid herself.” She steps closer to me.

“King, you saw me in this at the shop. You already knew how lovely I would look.” I chuckle and step closer to her.

“Ah! But I think she’s tightened cloth where she needed to tighten. Your body is now one with this kente. How will I ever separate the two later?” She steps even closer; our noses are almost touching.

“Who says you’ll get the chance?”OK, Kofi…let’s slow this down a bit.I take her hand and kiss the back of her knuckles.

“I hope you’re not terribly disappointed I came to retrieve you myself.”

She laughs a full laugh as she tucks her hands away behind her back. “Your majesty, I expected as much. You have too much to lose to leave me to Senya. Shall we?” She points to the limo, and I notice my new driver has arrived. When I open the door, she notices Senya is missing. “Where is Senya?”

I guide her into the car and follow. I give her space by sitting on the bench opposite hers. “He wanted to grab a motorbike from the palace and ride back into Kumasi. Plus, I think he was concerned about the outcome of our reunion…wanted to avoid the potential fighting and all that.” Her face lights up in amusement and I decide to take the moment to truly apologize to her. First, I roll up the partition.

“Ella, I was scared you loved Adom the same way I want you to love me. I apologize for all the foolish things I said. Will you please forgive me?”I, a king, am begging but I don’t care. “I can’t promise I won’t get jealous, because I am possessive over what is mine. But I do promise I will never doubt you again. This past week has been pure hell. It’s only been eight days, but now that I know what it is to have you in my life, I’m not prepared to ever have you out of it.”

She looks at me intently, trying to weigh the veracity of my words. It seems like a lifetime before she exhales and replies.

“What does that mean, Kofi? What do you want from me?”

I move to her bench and our knees touch. It’s electric.

“Ella, I think I’m falling in love with you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I think about you all the time and how you can be a part of my life in a more permanent way.”

“I can’t be a permanent fixture in your life, Kofi. You’re a king. And I’m definitely not an Ashanti queen. I’m not an Ashanti anything. I’m a Black woman from Atlanta that has found her heart in an impossible situation.”

“You’re exactly the woman I need by my side.” I take a chance and take her hand. She does not pull away. “You make me feel like there’s a little piece of the world God designed just for me. You are made just for me.”

Then, I take the ultimate leap of faith and stroke her hair, signaling a kiss. She hesitates, but then leans into my hand. I take her mouth with all the zeal I can muster under the uncertain circumstances. The kiss is tentative, but a start. She immediately pulls away and her face contorts into deep thought.

We say nothing else to each other. I am grateful she allows me to hold her hand while she gently sleeps. The nap is a welcome reprieve. It stops me from my natural inclination to influence compliance when I cannot command it. I want to push her; I want to know if she too is falling in love with me. I want to know if she forgives me and if she will stay in Ghana longer than the initial 30 days. Will she stay with me? Before I can think of a way to broach the subjects, I too fall asleep.

When I awake, I look out the window and see we have arrived in Tafo. The time went quickly. As tense as it still feels in this limo, our arrival is probably for the best.

Chapter Twenty

Visitation

Ella

Iawake from my car nap to red dirt roads and dilapidated tin-roofed buildings passing by our car windows.

Tafo in many ways is exactly what I pictured it to be. The absence of paved roads and sound structures was expected. However, I’m surprised to see the number of businesses lining the streets. There are drugstores, restaurants, and braiding salons. I assumed the villagers went into Kumasi for all of their business needs. Conversely, this is a small town with its own thriving economy. The Owusus’ Tarkwa was vastly different.

Then there’s the children. The children are everywhere and nowhere at nine a.m. on a Saturday morning. Most don’t wear shoes and play aimlessly on the side of the road. I look over at Kofi, and he’s sound asleep and his soft snores are cute. I want to move closer to him, but my mind refuses to allow my heart to concede. I reach over and gently shake him awake. “I think we’ve arrived, your majesty.” He shifts in his seat and smiles as if he were dreaming. He turns to look at me and takes a deep breath. The intensity of his stare leaves me breathless. His eyes break away and he looks out the window. He nods, pleased with what he sees.

“Yes, this is Tafo. Tell me, Ella—what are your first impressions of our largest village?”

I answer him eagerly. It is time to get down to business. “I see need and enterprise in equal supply. I can tell this is a village that is self-reliant and works hard to keep it that way.”

Kofi turns from the window and lays his hand on my shoulder with a smile. “You’re very perceptive; you sound like a future queen. That is exactly what Tafo is, an enterprising village that needs a new spark. That spark is you and the public schools you will bring the next generation.”

I give him a hesitant nod. “That’s a tall order. It’s the tallest order I’ve ever had to fill. How will I convince your community that they should allow and welcome Revolution Academies into their village?”How will I convince myself I am capable to be queen?

He gives me a serious look. “By becoming a part of it.”

I shake my head in disappointment. “I usually do. I generally stay three to six months in the communities I’m supporting. But I do not know if I can do that here. It’s another country.”

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